Boko Haram’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, claimed responsibility for the kidnappings and later released a video on 12th May showing over 100 girls dressed in hijabs and reciting verses from the Qur’an. He refused to return them to their terrified families, demanding that imprisoned Boko Haram members be freed.

But what happened in those six months between the two videos? Do you remember anyone talking about it after the first week or two? In The Guardian, Anna Leach said:, “The world has moved on.”

Simply put: we stopped caring. Of course, our hearts now go out to these girls just as strongly as when they were first kidnapped, but in those six months in between now and then, we just didn’t care.

Shortly after the mass kidnapping, it seemed that we suddenly had other, newer – perhaps even bigger – things to care about.

On 5 June, Isis began its offensive through northern Iraq. People tuned in from around the world to watch the World Cup from 12th June to 13th July. Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down in Ukraine on 17th July. Tensions grew between Israel and Hamas from 8th July to 26th August, resulting in the deaths of almost 2,200 people and the creation of hundreds of thousands of refugees. On 18th September, Scotland voted against independence. The next day, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon declared the Ebola virus to be “a threat to international peace and security.” The United States and several Arab partners began their air strike campaign in Syria on 22nd September.

The 24-hour news cycle constantly churns out new emergencies and tragedies, to the extent that it can be tempting to forget what happened the day before. It seems we always have something new to worry about, a new question that needs answering. There is always something happening that demands our immediate attention, our instant emotions, our powerful words, and our precious time.